Doctor Whooves Episode 20: The Cure
by The 1597 Faceless Writer
Summary: The Doctor and his friends are busy celebrating Hearth's Warming Eve when an amnesiac, human Twilight Sparkle from another dimension appears with a cry for help. During the trip to this alternate world, the Doctor will have to save old friends, make new allies, face old enemies, and confront one of his greatest foes yet: himself.
1. Prologue: Running

Author's Note: I now present the 20th episode in the tale of Doctor Whooves! Enjoy!

* * *

Doctor Whooves: Episode 20

The Cure

Prologue: Running

_**Froggy Bottom Bogg, Outskirts of Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

She had to keep running, no matter what. Despite what terrible fate may have fallen her fellow soldiers, despite the dangerous obstacles ahead of her, despite the impossible odds, she just had to keep running. The air felt acidic to the touch and the sky appeared much more rustic than it usually did. Ash, dirt, and smoke filled the air like mist and caked the dead carcasses of plants and unfortunate animals like the most viscous of frostings. A cough escaped from her lungs and she hastily brushed the hair away from her eyes. She had to see where she was going, even though the dense, smoky atmosphere prevented her from seeing beyond a few feet in front of her.

She let out a gasp as she felt her foot fall off a small ledge and sink into a thick mixture. "Great. Into the bog we go," she sighed under her breath as she began trudging through the contaminated water of the swamp. Through her protective goggles, she could see that the water reached up to just over her knees. It was an incredibly cold mixture with odd hot spots here and there that sent sharp jolts through her body like static electricity. The cries of mutated creatures echoed off in the distance and a few weak tentacles could be seen rising out of the water in the distance before falling back down into the depths. "When does this bog end?!"

Then...it appeared. She stopped dead in her tracks and her breathing morphed into that of a raspy, slow series of exhaling and inhaling. The tall Cyberman walked out of smog and approached her. The swamp water clung to its lower legs like glue and its metallic feet managed to still give off a stomping sound despite being sunken in the murky sludge. "REBEL SOLDIER! YOU WILL SURRENDER AND RETURN THE STOLEN TECHNOLOGY!" ordered the Cyberman.

The rebel soldier clutched a circular device wrapped around her wrist and shook her head. "Not a chance! You can have _this_ instead!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a lavender wand. A blue light shot out of the wand and smashed into one of the Cyberman's legs, cutting it clean off. She took off as soon as the Cyberman hit the surface of the water.

The bog water splashed up against her pants and jacket as she ran. The helmet on her head bounced about slightly and rattled against her skull like a shaking chain. She only got in a moment or two of running before something jumped out of the water at her. She dodged the attacking creature before getting a good look at it. The creature appeared to be a white rabbit with two heads, the claw of a wolf, and the tail of an alligator. The soldier let out a sad sigh as she aimed her wand at the growling beast. "You poor thing," she said. "I'm so sorry." With that said, a green beam shot out her wand and hit the creature right in the chest, sending it flying backwards into the water with its eyes now forever frozen with eternal slumber.

The sound of stomping, metallic feet began to emanate from the distance and the rebel took off again. She nearly tripped when she finally managed to return to solid ground. Sweat began forming on her brow as she ran through the smoke towards whatever haven she could find. Eventually she found herself standing under a lone dead tree in an area of the bog that seemed to have less smoke than usual. _Maybe teleportation can work here! _she thought before pointing her want upwards and focusing on a destination. Unfortunately, merely a single spark emanated from the wand's tip. _Damn. Looks like I'm on foot until I'm out of this bog._ The sound of stomping feet returned and she took off back into the thick of the smoke.

The sound of stomping was increasingly growing louder as she ran. She tried not to focus on those she was escaping from. She simply tried to focus on finding safety. Finding a place to hide. A place to keep their only chance to reach the Doctor safe. She could feel the ground beneath her growing rockier as well as beginning to slant upwards. There was no option but to trudge upwards. There was no idea of what awaited at the end of this upward path but it could only be one of two things: salvation or damnation.

Dead, corroded trees passed by the soldier's line of sight as she ran up the path. The stomping feet of the Cybermen could still be heard behind her, deep within the dirty mist. She tried to keep her breathing and running steps as silent as possible but a shocked gasp escaped her lungs when she nearly ran off the edge of a cliff. Part of the mountain pathway she was now on had given way and a gap several yards wide now stood in place of the lost section. The soldier took a deep breath and aimed her wand at her feet. A few seconds later, her body levitated a few inches in the air and she carefully directed her floating body over the gap. She made sure not to look down into the pit which she could guess consisted of a rusty void of ash and soot. After what seemed like hours, she reached the other end of the gap and lowered herself down. This feat of magic left her weakened but she wiped the sweat from her brow, took a few heavy breaths, and took off once more.

She continued to run up the path. Run, run, and run some more. That's all life had pretty much become about since the invasion a year previously. Run from the mutations. Run from the Cybermen. Run from the all-seeing eye and frightening intelligence and greed of the one simply known as Discord Whooves. Just keep running. Don't look back. Fight when you must. But always keep running until you are sure of your safety.

After what must have been at least an hour, she finally reached the end of the path, which was basically at the edge of a cliff at the top of one of the rocky structures that overlooked Froggy Bottom Bogg. She bent down and took in a fair amount of deep breaths before examining the device on her wrist once again: a simple, white, glowing piece of technology stolen from the heart of Canterlot itself. The leaders of the rebellion had obtained it themselves. This was a feat that didn't surprise the soldier. She had an incredible amount of respect for Colgate and Clockwork. She had been an ally to them since the day she first met them back in Canterlot on the day of the invasion and had always stayed by their side. Now, she was lost. She was trapped on top of a Froggy Bottom Bogg mountain with Cybermen catching up and the only chance to reach salvation could very well be ripped out of her dying hands. "It can't end like this," the soldier stated with a snarl. "I can't let Colgate and Clockwork down!"

Then...she heard it once more: the stomping footsteps of the Cybermen. The killers of her comrades and the invaders of her home. The followers of the tyrant who took everything good out of Equestria and crushed it into dust. The soldier readied her wand as she turned to face her pursuers, who were now emerging from the smoky abyss. Their emotionless faces eyed her through the falling ash and their metal skins gleamed in the light of the rusted sun. "YOU WILL SURRENDER!" ordered one of the Cybermen in the front.

The soldier was ready to attack with everything she had...but there were too many. She knew there were. One magician could not simply hold off a group of at least twenty Cybermen. They could upgrade too quickly. They had too much protection on their side. Within time, magic could potentially have no effect on them. With a heavy breath, she glanced back at the cliff and clutched the device on her wrist with her other hand. _Colgate told me that a leap should do it...but the device isn't fully ready yet. There's no guarantee that it will work_, the soldier thought as she considered her last option for escape. She looked at the Cybermen as they cautiously started to approach her. _Still...I have to try. This is our last chance. We need the Doctor. We need him here. Only he can help save our world of this disease._ The soldier turned away from the Cybermen and clicked a button on the device, which let out a soft _hum_ in response to its activation. She closed her eyes and took in another breath before charging towards the cliff edge. _Take me to Colgate's universe. Bring me to the Doctor. Help me find the Doctor_. As the Cybermen behind her began to scream for her to stop, she jumped.

For several seconds, all she felt was the smoky air grazing against her clothes and skin as she fell. She could still hear the Cybermen calling after her, though she could no longer make out anything they were saying. The _hum_ emanating from the device on her wrist suddenly began to grow louder and increase in intensity. Her arm started shaking and, in turn, the entirety of her body began vibrating at abnormal speeds. She felt the air spin around her as pressure started to build around her being. Then a powerful force seemed to kick her in the back as she was flung off in another direction like a speeding bullet.

The rusty light of her dying world vanished to be replaced by a bright, white light that seemed to rain down from the stars themselves. The soldier covered her eyes as the winds of the multiverse blew past her and kicked her every which way. Her hair fluttered about like it was caught in a tornado and her eyes could hardly be kept open once her goggles were blown clean off. A loud roar pounded against her ears for a minute or so. It was a powerful and violent roar which chipped away at every thought she attempted to bring up. A weak gasp escaped her lips as the roar began to tear away everything within her psyche. What was her mission? Where was she from? What was her name? Who did she love? Who did she hate? Why was she here? The only thing her attacked mind could focus on was one name: Doctor. She had to find the Doctor. Everything depended on this one remaining chunk of her lost memories. Suddenly, through the painful continuation of the inter-dimensional roar, she heard the sound of voices. They were muffled at first but soon began to increase in clarity.

"I'm sorry!" pleaded a female voice.

"It's not your fault, Derpy," replied a second, familiar female voice.

A male laugh echoed against the soldier's ears and warmed her heart like a cozy fire on a winter's night. "I know I said I had a craving for some cocoa but nopony had to throw it at me," chuckled the male voice.

The first female voice giggled. "Sorry again, Doctor."

The soldier couldn't help but smile as she felt the dimensional winds begin to drag her in the direction of the voices. "Doctor," she stated. "I've found you."


	2. The Hearth's Warming Eve Party

Chapter 1: The Hearth's Warming Eve Party

_**Home of Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

"Open up, Doctor! It's Hearth's Warming Eve!" called the excited Pinkie Pie as she rapped her hooves against the TARDIS doors. There was no response. Twilight, Donna, and Spike were currently moving about the library and finishing putting up the last bits of decorations for the party.

"Hopefully this will make up for Christmas," Donna joked as she placed a large punch bowl on a long table covered in a red and green plastic.

"Don't worry. We don't usually see ice zombies here during Hearth's Warming Eve," Twilight replied with a giggle.

"Doctor!" Pinkie groaned. "Come on! The party's going to start soon!"

"You might as well give up now, Pinkie Pie," Donna said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Once the Doctor gets focused on something it's hard to distract him with anything else."

"We'll just see about that." Pinkie rubbed her hooves together as a devious smile appeared on her face. "It's time for me to do this...PINKIE PIE STYLE!"

Donna leaned back against the wall and grabbed one of the iced cookies. "This should be interesting."

* * *

The Doctor was looking over a marathon of data on one of the console monitors. "Inter-dimensional irregularities appear to have become stagnant over here in Equestria," he stated. "But there seems to be a lot of disturbances coming from a land on the other side of the ocean."

"Are you _still_ going over all of that?" asked a voice from behind. The Doctor jumped and turned around. Pinkie Pie stood there with a determined look on her face. "We're about to have a Hearth's Warming Eve party and _this_ is what you'd rather be doing right now?!"

The Doctor began to quickly glance between the TARDIS doors and Pinkie Pie. "How the hell did you come in here?"

"I walked in!" Pinkie gave a huge smile.

"But those doors are locked! Not even the armies of Genghis Khan could get past those doors!"

"Well, the plot of this story requires me to get in here so that I can convince you to come out and enjoy the party!"

The Doctor tilted his head. "Story?"

Pinkie jumped in the air and giggled. "Story?! You have a story?! I have a story too! It's about this pink, adorable mare that snuck into some shut-in stallion's invincible box in order to get him to go to a party! It's a gem!"

The Doctor stared at Pinkie for a moment before an amused smile appeared on his face. He let out a long, entertained laugh and wiped his eyes. "I swear, Pinkie Pie, you might just be the one thing in this universe I might never be able to solve...and I'm surprisingly okay with that."

"Goodie!" Pinkie grabbed the Doctor and pulled him towards the TARDIS doors. "Now come out and have some fun! You've been cooped up in your box for far too long now!"

"Don't you _ever_ get tired of parties, Pinkie? You only _just_ threw a welcome party for Donna."

Pinkie let out a loud gasp before bringing the Doctor close and staring deep into his eyes. "Me tired of parties?! _NEVER_!" The Doctor let out a soft _yelp_ as the pink mare shoved him through the doors.

* * *

"That was quicker than I expected," Twilight teased as she stared down at the Doctor, who was lying on the floor at the foot of the TARDIS with an annoyed, amused look on his face.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and stood up, brushing the dust off his brown suit. "I'm glad that you enjoyed the show, Ms. Sparkle," he stated.

There was a knock at the door and Pinkie shot across the library. "They're here! Let the party begin!" she exclaimed. She didn't waste any time in opening the door and a small crowd of ponies passed through the threshold. The crowd consisted of Derpy, Applejack and her family, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Zecora, and the Cakes. Before long, the library was filled with the sounds of ponies talking, laughing, and doing whatever else ponies do at parties.

The Doctor slipped over to an area behind the punch table and began examining the readings on a small, remote-like device in his hooves. "And what exactly are _you_ doing?" asked a teasing voice.

The Doctor jumped and turned to see Derpy standing a foot away from him. "Derpy! Who? Me? Not much. Just checking the weather," he stammered in reply. Derpy raised an eyebrow. "Okay, _fine_. I'm looking into some readings about any dimensional rifts in the area."

"And you've decided to do this during the Hearth's Warming Eve party?"

"I have a really strong feeling that I need to find as much info about these rifts as quickly as possible. Don't tell me, Ms. Hooves, that you've forgotten about all that's happened because of them."

"Of course I haven't forgotten." Derpy began shuffling her hooves. "I'm just thinking that it's a holiday and you should be focusing a bit more on having some fun."

The Doctor looked at the others smiling, talking with each other, and eating the various holiday treats. "I guess loosening up for a little bit wouldn't hurt."

Derpy smiled brightly. "Good!" She and the Doctor began to walk away from the punch table. "You should be thankful that it was I who found you. Pinkie would've probably torn you apart."

"Believe me, I don't think I want to get on the bad side of a mare who can break into my TARDIS." The Doctor shook a bit and Derpy laughed.

Across the room, Twilight and her friends were talking with each other. "I must say, Pinkie Pie, this is another marvelous party you've prepared," Rarity complimented as she took a sip of punch.

"Thanks! I always try my best!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Well would y'all look at that," Applejack chuckled as she pointed towards the Doctor and Derpy laughing and having a conversation with Zecora.

"It looks like somepony's finally decided to get out of his box and have some fun," said Rainbow Dash.

"He just needed a little nudge!" Pinkie said with a giggle.

"Oh...I'm sure he's had a lot on his mind," said Fluttershy.

"He has," Twilight stated. "He's been looking further into those dimensional rifts."

"I don't blame him. Look at all the trouble they've caused," said Rarity.

"Let's just hope that we start getting some peace around here." Twilight let out a long sigh.

"We could definitely use some," said Applejack.

"So, AJ, is everything alright over at the farm?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah. Things are good. Granny Smith's been in a much better mood recently." Twilight couldn't help but smile warmly at this. "There wasn't much cleaning up to do after that whole incident with the Weeping Angel and Colgate."

Rainbow crossed her forelegs. "Speaking of her, the _nerve_ she had to just run out without saying goodbye!"

"She said goodbye to Twilight, Spike, and the Doctor. That counts for something," said Fluttershy.

"But _still_. After all we did to help her, she just up and disappears!" Rainbow snapped.

"She was ready to get home, Rainbow Dash," Twilight explained. "I think anypony would want to head home after experiencing what happened to her."

Rainbow gave a slight nod of agreement. "I hope she's doing better now," Applejack stated with a small smile.

"I think she'll be fine. If Trixie can make a comeback, I'm sure Colgate has a chance at a fresh start," said Rarity.

"Is Trixie doing shows again or something like that?" Rainbow asked.

"Actually, yes. I've read about it in a few Canterlot newspapers that Spike delivers to me. She's apparently starting to make a positive name for herself."

"Good for her," Twilight said with a smile.

"Y'all enjoying the party, Big Mac?" Applejack asked as her brother walked by.

"Eeyup," replied the stallion.

Suddenly, Twilight felt a shiver run down her spine. The air around her grew extremely cold and the sounds of the party grew muffled. Through the muffled air, she could hear what sounded like her own voice calling out from the distance. "Doctor. Must find you. I need you. We all need you. We need the cure for the cure. Doctor," stated the voice.

"Daydreaming already, Ms. Sparkle?" asked the Doctor as he stepped in front of Twilight.

Twilight shook her head and rubbed her temple. "Wha?" she asked.

"You must have been thinking really hard about something. You had this glassy look on your face and were staring off into nothing."

"Oh. I thought I...never mind."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Is everything alright?"

"Of course! It's Hearth's Warming Eve and I'm having a party with some of my closest friends! Nothing's wrong at all!" Twilight put on a somewhat forced smile and tried her best to take her mind off the voice she had heard; but she couldn't shake off a feeling of dread located deep within her psyche.

"So are you enjoying yourself, Doctor?" asked Pinkie with a huge grin.

"I am, to be honest," the Doctor replied as he took a sip of punch.

"Nice to get out of that old box isn't it?"

The Doctor placed a hoof against his muzzle and gave a sharp _shhh_. "Don't say that too loud!" The Doctor glanced back at the TARDIS before turning back to the mares. "She might hear you."

"I didn't know the TARDIS cared about its age," said Derpy with a smirk.

"She pretends not to but she does. Believe me, I've spent over nine centuries exploring my universe with her," said the Doctor.

The mares exchanged a series of awkward glances when Donna suddenly appeared, her breathing heavy. "You look like you've just run a marathon," said Rainbow Dash.

"No," Donna breathed. "I just...escaped...from them."

Donna glanced back towards Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, who were now huddled together and talking about whatever it is that young fillies talk about. "Did they barrage ya with questions and stuff like that?" Applejack asked with an amused roll of her eyes.

"They kept asking me why humans don't have cutie marks and I almost ended up describing to them what a tattoo is."

"Tattoo?" asked Rarity.

"Don't ask me to explain," said Donna. "I don't think Equestria is in need of tattoos right now."

"I'm with you on that one, Donna," said the Doctor. "Equestria _certainly_ doesn't need any more tattoos than it already has...but _I_ could use a hot cocoa right about now."

"I'll get it!" said Derpy with a sparkle in her eyes as she took to the air and shot off towards the kitchen.

"_Smooth_ segway there, Doctor," Donna commented with a teasing glare.

The Doctor gave a boasting smile. "I know it was! Good thing I have a craving for hot chocolate right now."

Donna sighed and shook her head. Derpy suddenly returned with a tray topped with several mugs filled with hot cocoa. She quickly flew towards the Doctor while Twilight and her friends' eyes went wide. "Oh no," said Rainbow Dash. Just before she expectedly crashed into the Doctor, Derpy came to a smooth stop and landed in front of the Doctor. She presented the tray with a smile and giggled. Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped a bit. "Wow...no crash."

"Your cocoa, Doctor," said Derpy, still beaming from ear to ear.

"Thank you, Derpy," the Doctor said back.

Just before the Doctor could grab a mug, a blast of green fire erupted behind Derpy. Derpy's entire body shook with surprise and the tray of hot cocoa fell forward onto the Doctor. Donna, Rarity, and Fluttershy simultaneously clasped their mouths, Rainbow and Pinkie smirked a bit, Twilight's and Applejack's eyes widened, and Derpy's face became as red as ketchup. "I'm sorry!" Derpy pleaded.

"It wasn't your fault, Derpy," said Twilight before narrowing her eyes and glaring at Spike, who was standing behind Derpy clasping his mouth and holding a scroll in his claws.

The Doctor laughed as he examined the soaked front of his suit. "I know I said I had a craving for some cocoa but nopony had to throw it at me," he chuckled.

"Sorry again, Doctor," said Derpy as she shuffled her forelegs.

"It's fine, Derpy. Nopony's hurt...although my chest may be a bit singed for the next hour or so." Derpy winced a bit. "Everything's fine! I'm fine! We're all fine! But a towel would be nice."

"I'll get one," said Donna as she walked off into the kitchen.

Just then, a strong chill ran up Twilight's spine. It felt to her as if the snow from outside had piled in and was now filling the air. She also heard the familiar voice again. This time it sounded much louder and closer. "Doctor. I've found you," stated the voice with an odd, happy tone.

"Something wrong, Twilight?" asked Fluttershy. Twilight shook her head and turned to Fluttershy. "Oh. I'm sorry if I distracted you from something."

"You didn't distract me, Fluttershy," Twilight stated with a warm smile.

"Well you definitely looked like you were thinking about something," said Rainbow Dash. "Your face being all glassy and all."

"Daydreaming again, Twilight?" the Doctor asked with a teasing tone.

"I certainly hope so," Twilight replied.

Donna returned with a towel and handed it to the Doctor, who began to start drying off his wet suit. "That doesn't look good," said Spike as he read the scroll he had burped out.

"What doesn't?" Applejack asked.

Spike handed the scroll to Twilight. "She is coming. Prepare yourselves, dearies," she read aloud. She looked at everypony and exchanged confused looks before focusing on Spike. "Is this from the Princess?"

"I don't think so. It didn't feel like it came from her. It felt like it came from somepony else."

"Dearies," said the Doctor. "Dearies. Dearies. Dearies." His eyes widened slightly. "Sweeties."

Suddenly, everypony stopped what they were doing and became still. A strange, powerful, electrical sensation had appeared in the air and now everypony's hair felt like it was standing on end. A soft roar could be heard in the back of all of their ears and all the sounds of the world appeared to be muffled by an unknown force. "Does anypony else in here feel...odd?" Donna asked.

"A strange force, I do detect," said Zecora. "This usually means nothing good, I do reflect."

Twilight looked down at the scroll and gulped. "She is coming," she said.

Just then, the entire library started to shake and an orb of light appeared in the center of the room. "Back up!" ordered the Doctor. Everypony stepped back as the orb widened into a rift about the size of Donna. Sparks of electricity shot from it and smoke poured through its opening. A window shattered upstairs and the floor cracked beneath the opening. A small shockwave spread outwards as the rift closed and something fell out.

The second the rift closed, everything returned to normal. The electrical feel disappeared, sound returned, and the chill vanished. However, nopony felt comfortable due to the figure lying on the floor in the center of the room. "Is...is that a human?" Donna asked.

The Doctor nodded as he stepped forward to examine the new arrival. It was a human girl who appeared to be in her late teens. She had fair skin covered in dust, cuts, and bruises and flowing purple hair which was singed in certain areas. A green army helmet was placed on her head and she was clothed in a green jacket, black undershirt, black pants, and brown boots. A wand of sorts was clutched tightly in her right hand and a strange, white, futuristic device was attached to one of her wrists. The Doctor knelt down next to her as her eyes slowly opened. "You don't need to be afraid. You are safe. But we would like to know who you are."

The girl's eyes focused on the Doctor and a warm smile fell upon her face. "I...I can't remember," she said with a sigh.

"Pardon?"

"I remember nothing. My name. My life. My friends. Where I'm from. Why I'm here. But...I know who _you_ are, Doctor." Her smile grew slightly wider. "I've found you, Doctor. I don't know why I needed to find you but...I'm glad that I have. You're needed. You're...you're Equestria's last hope."

"What do you mean?!" Before the girl could answer further, her eyes rolled up and she lost consciousness. The Doctor stood up and turned towards the others. "We need to get her to the hospital. Now!"

"On it!" said Rainbow Dash as she and Fluttershy flew over and picked the unconscious teen up. As they did, something fell out of one of her pockets.

"What's that?" asked Spike.

"It looks like a name tag," said Donna as the Doctor picked it up. His eyes scanned over the name on the piece of plastic before him and a sigh escaped his lips.

"Well? What does it say? What's her name?" Twilight asked.

The Doctor turned back towards his unicorn friend as he presented the name tag to her. "Her name is...Twilight Sparkle," he replied.


	3. Twi

Chapter 2: Twi

_**Ponyville Hospital, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

The human known as Twilight Sparkle lay on the hospital bed in the center of the room. The room was flooded with an ocean of white light and a small group of Ponyville doctors and nurses stood around the bed. The Doctor stood in the center of the group, instructing them how to properly examine and take care of a human. In a waiting room a few doors down, Twilight, Derpy, Donna, Spike, and the rest of Twilight's friends waited and discussed the possible answers to this strange incident. "A _human_ version of you! I must admit, darling, I'm very interested in meeting her," said Rarity. "Though we will have to discuss her fashion sense. Not to sound too rude but her outfit was _dreadful_!"

"Something tells me she wasn't dressed like that due to fashion sense," said Donna as she crossed her arms.

"Twilight...are you okay?" Fluttershy asked. Everypony turned to Twilight, who was sitting silently and staring off into space.

Spike waved one of his claws in front of Twilight's face. "Hello? Anypony in there?" he asked.

Twilight shook her head and turned to Spike. "What?!" she asked with a somewhat annoyed tone.

Spike jumped slightly. "Sorry. You were staring off into space. We were just wondering if you were okay."

Twilight let out a loud, disgruntled groan and slouched back in her seat. "I'm just thinking. There's a lot to think about right now."

"Well try not to think about all of it at once, silly!" said Pinkie Pie with a grin. "It'll hurt your head!"

"You can say that again," Rainbow Dash added.

"How can I _not_ think about any of this?!" Twilight snapped. "An alternate, human version of myself suffering from amnesia has just popped out of a dimensional rift and, just to add the sprinkles to this _wonderful_ sundae, she needs help from the Doctor!"

"You look like you have some steam needing of blowing off," said Applejack.

"You could try screaming into a pillow. That always helps me when I get stressed," Derpy suggested with a cute smile.

Twilight rubbed the sides of her head and let out another groan. "I guess I'm just ready for us to get a break. Things have been non-stop crazy for quite a while now," she said.

"I can agree with you on that one," said Rainbow Dash as she lowered to the ground and leaned against the wall.

"I guess that's a price for knowing somepony so connected to crazy as the Doctor," chuckled Spike as he nudged Twilight.

Twilight gave a guilty face and looked away. "Yeah...I suppose," she replied uncomfortably.

Donna approached Twilight and sat down next to her. "Anything else bugging at you?" she asked.

"Loads."

"This seems to be a sudden change. I don't remember you worrying about all of this earlier like when I traveled with you, the Doctor, and Derpy."

"That's because it _is_ a sudden change. I mean, we only just came out of a conflict involving a Weeping Pegasus and a unicorn which not only turned out to be its daughter but also accidentally sent Pinkie and me back in time. Now, barely a couple days later, we're already dealing with something else. There just seems to be no resting point."

Donna wrapped an arm around Twilight and leaned back against the wall. "Then...perhaps you should take a break from traveling for a while like I did."

"But your break was forced upon you."

Donna gave a slight nod of agreement. "True. But, when I think about it, those few months of just me and Shaun living an ordinary life were...nice. I mean, traveling with the Doctor is fun, crazy, and all that good stuff but it's nice to take a break at some point and just slow down to enjoy time at its normal pace."

"Maybe a break _does_ sound good."

Just then, the door to the waiting room opened and the Doctor entered. Everypony's eyes locked on him. "Well?" asked Applejack.

"What's happened?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"And don't spare _any_ of the details!" Rarity stated.

The Doctor smiled slightly and sighed. "She'll live but she's still unconscious. I've given the doctors here the basic instructions on how to examine the human anatomy. From what both they and I have deduced, she should awake within the hour...hopefully," the Doctor responded.

Derpy noticed something being held in one of the Doctor's hooves. "What's that?" she asked as she pointed at the object.

The Doctor presented the object. It had the appearance of a thick, white, glass wrist watch with a thin screen and a collection of knobs and buttons that looked as if they had been welded together through guesswork. "This is an object she had on her wrist. I have a feeling that this is what she used to transport herself to our world." The Doctor walked over to a table in the center of the room and placed the object down on its surface. Everypony gathered around to get a good look at the object.

"In a way, it sort of looks like what Matilda carried around on her foreleg," Twilight deduced.

"You mean a vortex manipulator?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah...uh...that."

"It certainly looks inspired by one." The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and proceeded to scan over the device. "This is very advanced technology. Well beyond that of any pony or human technology of this time. But whoever built this _clearly_ didn't entirely know what they were doing. There's plenty of mistakes which could have meant disaster for poor Ms. Sparkle." The Doctor looked up and awkwardly locked eyes with Twilight. "The human one, I mean."

"So what are we supposed to call her, the human Twilight, when she wakes up?" Spike asked.

"Yes. I think I speak for everypony when I say that having two Twilights will cause some confusion," said Rarity.

"We can give her a nickname. She's suffering from amnesia so I don't think she'll mind much," said Donna.

"How about Twiley?" Pinkie asked with a jump.

"_No_!" Twilight replied firmly.

"But Shining Armor calls _you_ Twiley."

"That's different! I refuse to call my human double _Twiley_. It just...feels weird."

"How about Twi?" Rainbow Dash suggested with a shrug.

"Twi?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. Not Twilight. Not _Twiley_. Just Twi."

Twilight looked at the others and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure. Why not? Twi it is. It's better than nothing, I suppose."

Donna approached the Doctor slightly and examined the device closely. "So do you have any theories about how _Twi_ got amnesia?" she asked.

"My guess is that this dimension hopping device had a hand in it. There's so much room for glitches in this device that I'm sure amnesia is a possible side effect. But, hey, given all of the _other_ possible side effects that could have resulted from using this device, amnesia is one of the _better_ results," the Doctor explained. Suddenly, as the Doctor scanned another part of the device with his screwdriver, a small, red object disconnected from the device and fell onto the table. It was no bigger than half the size of a box of matches and was entirely red aside from a small, black circle on the top that looked like a miniature camera lense. "Now what do we have here?"

The Doctor tapped the small box and a holographic light shot out of the lense, cloaking the waiting room in a silver aura. The face of a mare appeared in the light...a mare with a blue coat and a blue and white striped mane. "Is that...Colgate?!" gasped Donna.

The mare in the hologram was definitely Colgate but she looked different from how she had looked when she had departed from Ponyville. There were a fair number of cuts and bruises on her face, small portions of her mane were singed and frayed, and she looked less like the frightened and conflicted mare tortured by a Weeping Pegasus and more like a tough and strong-willed war general. "Hello, Doctor and everypony else," said Colgate's holographic portrait. "I don't have enough time to explain everything so I'll make this quick. I am leaving this message in the makeshift rift machine in the case that Twilight reaches you but has been unfortunately incapacitated by any side effects brought on by dimension hopping. For almost a full year now, Clockwork and I have been in charge of a rebel resistance in an alternate Equestria from your own. A terrible mastermind arrived in this universe around the same time we did and brought with him a destructive army that has since nearly destroyed this once prosperous world. He is the cause of the dimensional rifts. He has built a rift machine and I believe he plans to take his army beyond this world. You can find the coordinates to this dimension in the makeshift rift generator. Doctor, I know you've probably heard this one too many times, you are the only hope both this Equestria and my and your Equestria has. We are dealing with a _very_ dangerous and ruthless enemy. His name is Discord-"

Colgate's image flickered and faded away. "Wait! What?!" asked the Doctor as he examined the small, red box further. "I suppose that was all the footage she was able to capture."

Everypony in the room was silent for a moment. "Did...did she say that Clockwork was with her?!" asked Twilight.

"Who's Clockwork?" Donna asked.

"He's me from another dimension where I was born as an everyday stallion in Equestria," the Doctor replied. "The last time we saw him, he was moving on from a tragedy, locked out of his own universe, and was heading out to explore this world with his world's version of Derpy, Bright Eyes."

"Bright Eyes! Colgate didn't mention her!" Derpy gasped.

"How about we move the focus back to who the heck is behind this all!" Rainbow Dash snapped. "I heard her say Discord's name before the message ended!"

"But Discord's stone!" said Rarity.

"What if he escaped?!" Fluttershy gasped.

"Or it could be another version of him," Applejack guessed.

"It's not Discord," said a voice from the doorway.

Everypony turned and looked to see that the alternate, human Twilight Sparkle looking at them with groggy, tired eyes. "Twi!" Pinkie Pie gasped.

Twi chuckled as she stepped forward. "Is that my name?"

"It's your nickname! We all agreed on it. It's so we don't confuse you and _our_ Twilight."

Twi looked at Twilight and weakly tilted her head. "So I have a pony double. That's interesting."

"Wait a moment!" the Doctor ordered as he approached Twi. "Twi, you said that our enemy's not Discord."

Twi slowly nodded. "Yes, I did," she replied. "I've forgotten most of my memories but bits and pieces are beginning to return. One of those pieces involves the name of our enemy. It's not just Discord. His full name is Discord Whooves."

"Discord Whooves?" Twilight asked.

"Yes." Twi suddenly grasped her head. "There's...there's also something _really_ important that you need to know about him."

"What?! What is it?" the Doctor asked.

Twi looked at the Doctor sadly. "I...I don't remember what it was." She let out a pained groan before clasping her forehead again. "Wait! I...I...I think...he...he's connected to...you...Doctor."

Before anypony could question her any further, Twi passed out and fell to the floor. "Let's get her back to her room."

Twilight levitated the unconscious Twi with her horn and walked her out of the room, the Doctor following close behind. "So now what, Doctor?" Twilight asked as she returned Twi to her hospital bed. Twilight turned to face the Doctor. The Time Lord and the unicorn met eye-to-eye.

"We start preparation," the Doctor replied. "This next trip is going to be very dangerous. And...and I understand if you don't wish to come. Honestly, I myself would think it better if you remained-"

"Shut up." The Doctor jumped at Twilight's blunt order. "Don't you _dare_ think that I'm going to stand by and let you run off to some dangerous world by yourself! Whether you like to admit it or not, you need somepony to be there alongside you, Doctor. Me, Derpy, Donna, whoever else. You're not doing this alone, Doctor. I'm coming with you and nothing you say is going to stop me!"

The Doctor gave a smile of respect. "You're quite amazing in your own right, Twilight Sparkle. After all this craziness, I assumed you would have wanted to take a break."

Twilight looked away. "A break sounds good...but it sounds like a lot is on the line here. That break _will_ come...but not today. Equestria needs you, me, and everypony else right now." The Doctor reached forward and pulled Twilight into an affectionate hug. As Twilight hugged the Doctor, her eyes trailed over to the doorway of the room. Donna was standing in the doorway and was looking at Twilight with a confident smile on her face. Twilight said nothing and simply smiled back.


	4. The Land of Death

Chapter 3: The Land of Death

_**Home of Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

The TARDIS doors flung open as the Doctor rushed inside with Colgate's makeshift rift generator held tightly in his hooves. He ran up to the console, reached underneath, and pulled out an electric cable. He hastily attached the cable to a socket on the rift generator and turned his attention to one of the monitors. After several long seconds, a series of space and time coordinates appeared on the screen. "There we go!" the Doctor exclaimed happily as he pranced around the console before running back out through the TARDIS doors.

The Doctor was greeted by Twilight, Derpy, Donna, and the others upon jumping out of the blue box. "What's all the jumping about?" Applejack asked.

"I've just got the coordinates from the rift generator implemented in the TARDIS console. The next stop this TARDIS makes is Twi's world."

Rainbow Dash flew up into the air and brought her forehooves together. "Right! Let's do this!" she announced.

"Hold on one moment there, Rainbow," said the Doctor with a wave of his hoof.

Rainbow came to a quick halt immediately in front of the Doctor. "What's the hold up, Doc?! Let's go!"

"Rainbow," said Applejack as she pulled her cyan friend back to earth. Applejack turned to the Doctor and the two earth ponies met eye-to-eye. "Not all of us are going...right?"

"I think it would be good to have some eyes and ears here in this dimension while I'm gone," the Doctor explained. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a device that resembled a futuristic walkie-talkie. "Here. This will allow us to communicate." Applejack took the walkie-talkie and nodded.

"So...who's staying and who's going?" Fluttershy asked.

"I think it's _obvious_ who's going," said Rainbow Dash as she took to the air again. "Derpy, Donna, and Egghead."

"Hey!" Twilight snapped. Rainbow smiled teasingly at Twilight and the group of mares laughed.

"Y'all better come back in one piece!" stated Applejack.

"We'll be waiting for you," said Fluttershy.

"Don't forget to write!" said Pinkie Pie as she rushed forward and wrapped Twilight, Derpy, and Donna in a big hug.

"And be careful," Rarity implored.

"We'll try our best," replied Twilight as she was released from Pinkie's death grip. Twilight's gaze suddenly trailed over to Spike, who was looking down and shuffling his feet.

"Be safe...Twilight...everypony," he said awkwardly.

Twilight glanced at the Doctor and her friends before turning back to Spike. She slowly approached her number one assistant and knelt down in front of him. "Listen, Spike," she said softly. Spike looked up to meet her gaze. "Why...why don't you come with us?"

Spike's face lit up like a firework. "You mean it?!"

"Of course! I've missed having my number one assistant in the TARDIS with me." Twilight smiled at Spike and Spike gave Twilight an affectionate hug. Twilight then turned back towards the Doctor. "Is that alright with you, Doctor?"

"Sure! Just don't let him spew fire on the console. I'm still working out the last bugs caused from _last time_," the Doctor replied with a smirk.

Spike stepped back and blushed a bit. "It's not my fault! Pinkie Pie threw pepper in my face!" Spike argued.

"Hey!" snapped Pinkie Pie. Everypony let out a cheerful laugh.

"I guess we better get moving then," said Derpy.

"Are you all prepared?" the Doctor asked as he looked over his companions.

"I've got first aid supplies!" said Twilight as she raised a white box with a red cross.

"I've got snacks!" said Derpy as she raised a basket full to the brim with muffins.

"Then I guess we're all set," said the Doctor.

"You're forgetting one thing," stated a familiar voice. Everypony looked to see Twi stepping through the doorway. "Me."

"You have a weird habit of popping up out of nowhere," said Rainbow Dash.

"You're going with them, Twi?" Pinkie asked.

"Yes. I need to," Twi replied sternly.

"Don't you need rest? You _are_ suffering from amnesia right now," said Donna.

Twi continued to give a serious glare at the group. "Pieces are returning. I don't remember everything but I know that I must go with you. The world you're going to is very dangerous."

"No different from most of the places the Doctor's taken us," Twilight said.

"Still, I need to come with you," said Twi. The alternate Twilight approached the Doctor. "Please...Doctor."

The Doctor looked up at Twi and, after a moment of thought, sighed and nodded. "You may come," he said. "Your returning memories may prove useful." The Doctor clapped his hooves and the TARDIS doors opened. "All aboard!" The Doctor gave a quick bow to those who were staying behind. "We shall return!" He then turned around and disappeared through the TARDIS doors. He was followed by Donna, Derpy, and Twi.

Twilight and Spike stood in front of the TARDIS and looked at their friends. "We'll come back," said Twilight.

"That's a promise!" stated Spike with confidence.

"Good. Now go help that there crazy stallion save another world!" Applejack said with a smirk. Twilight's smile grew a bit wider as she turned around and boarded the TARDIS alongside Spike.

The TARDIS doors closed as soon as the unicorn and the dragon had entered. The Doctor, Derpy, Donna, and Twi were standing around the TARDIS console. "Everypony hold on," the Doctor ordered. Twilight and Spike approached the console and held on like the others. The Doctor reached for a nearby lever. "This is going to be a bumpy ride." He pulled the lever down.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity stood and watched the TARDIS slowly fade away into the fabric of space and time. Once the blue box had completely disappeared, everypony sighed and turned to each other for comfort. Pinkie suddenly let out a loud laugh. "Pardon me, but what exactly are you laughing about?" Rarity asked.

"An earth pony, a unicorn, a pegasus, a dragon, and two humans walked into a TARDIS!" Pinkie Pie replied with a huge grin. The others gave confused looks. Pinkie's face contorted into a thinking expression as she started scratching her chin. "There's a joke in there _somewhere_...and I'm gonna find it!"

_**Town Hall, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

The Doctor and his companions grasped the TARDIS console tightly as the blue box shot itself through the dimensional barriers. The Doctor hadn't been kidding when he said it was going to be a bumpy ride. The entire ship vibrated around them like a massage chair in an earthquake. Sparks poured down from the ceiling and the monitors on the console filled with static. The ship tilted at very sharp angles. The humans and ponies could feel their respective feet and hooves slipping back and forth on the TARDIS floor. "Are we almost there?!" Derpy managed to ask.

"We should be!" the Doctor replied as he pressed a collection of buttons, causing sparks to shoot out of the console at Donna and Spike.

A series of _booms_ could be heard in the distance and miniature lightning bolts shot horizontally through the air above their heads. A violent tilt of the TARDIS sent Twilight falling forward into the console. Another tilt nearly caused Derpy to bang her head on one of the many levers. Donna gasped as a loud _bang_ emanated from outside the TARDIS and the whole ship jolted as if something large had smashed into it. The ship then began to spin rapidly in a nauseating vortex pattern. Layers of sparks rained down on the Doctor and his companions and singed their clothes and fur.

"HANG ON!" the Doctor ordered as he grasped onto two levers and pulled them down. The TARDIS lights flickered and the cloister bell rang out a couple times. Then, with an abrupt _clang_, the TARDIS came to a halt. Everypony fell onto the floor surrounding the console and spent several seconds lying in their respective spots, breathing heavily.

"My head!" groaned Donna.

"My neck!" sighed Twi.

"My legs!" grunted Twilight.

"My back!" griped Spike.

"My muffins!" whined Derpy.

"My kidneys!" gasped the Doctor.

"Well...this trip has gotten off to a _smooth_ start," said Donna after standing up. It didn't take long for everypony to get up and recover from the bumpy ride.

"Did we make it?" Derpy asked as she approached the Doctor.

The Doctor looked at one of the monitors that was still covered in static. He abruptly tapped the side of the monitor and the static disappeared. "There we go! Let's see! Ah...oh...hmm...well...yes! We've made it!" the Doctor answered.

Suddenly, everypony fell silent and turned towards the TARDIS doors. "Well...let's head out then," said Donna. The Doctor nodded and everypony began making their way towards the doors.

As they started walking towards the exit, Twilight and Twi met each other's gazes. Twilight found herself freezing for a moment. At this random second, the realization of who exactly Twi was hit her. _She's an alternate, human version of me_, Twilight thought. This was really the first time where Twilight had given any time to get a good look at Twi. Her eyes fell across her fair skin, her dirty uniform, and her purple hair. A strange uneasiness fell across her whilst staring at her dimensional double.

"Is something wrong?" Twi asked at one point with a calm, endearing smile on her face.

Twilight shook her head and tried her best to authentically smile back at Twi. "No...nothing's wrong. I'm just preparing myself for what's waiting for us," Twilight replied quickly.

"That's good." Twi's face became uncomfortably serious. "You're going to need to be prepared for what's in store for us."

Twilight turned away from Twi and followed the others out through the TARDIS doors.

A pitch black room awaited them beyond the TARDIS doors. "We sure could use some light," said Donna. With that said, three lights appeared in the darkness: one from the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, one from Twilight's horn, and one from a lavender wand in Twi's hand.

"I remember...I'm good at magic!" Twi stated with a smile. With the three lights, the group was able to get a decent look at their surroundings.

They were standing in what appeared to be a decaying, abandoned meeting room with balconies a level above them. "This is Ponyville's town hall!" Twilight gasped.

"You're right! It is!" Derpy agreed. Derpy let out a hard cough. Thick layers of dust covered the floor of the town hall, including the various objects and pieces of furniture scattered about. The air tasted of rusted metal, dust, and ash and was hard to breathe in at certain areas in the room.

"It's like nopony's been here in _years_!" Spike said.

"No. Only one," Twi explained with a glassy look on her face. Before anypony could ask anything else, Twi made her way towards the doors, pushed them open, and exited. The Doctor and the others quickly followed.

_**Town Square, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

The group exited the abandoned town hall to be hit with a wave of lukewarm air and a mouthful of ash. The air felt incredibly acidic and their eyes and throats stung upon contact with it. "Gah! My eyes!" Spike gasped as he closed his eyes tight and placed his claws over them. Everyone in the group followed suit.

"The air! It must be polluted!" Donna said as she covered her eyes and mouth.

As Twi covered her eyes, she scratched her head vigorously in order to try and fully remember a memory that was creeping up on her. When the memory finally came into full view, she waved her wand. A blue flash of light emanated from her wand's tip. Within seconds, the stinging inflicted upon everypony's eyes and throats went away. "What spell was that?" Twilight asked as she turned to Twi.

"I believe it was the Pure Air Shield Spell," Twi replied as she examined her wand in awe. "It's come in handy a lot since this world became diseased." Now that the pain was gone, everypony was able to get a good view of where they were.

They were standing outside the Ponyville Town Hall, which looked even more decayed from the outside. The sky was gray and filled with dark gray clouds, the sun appearing as merely a dim, white circle in the center of the sky. An endless rainfall of ash descended from the sky and fell towards the land below. The ground was covered in a thick layer of ash and dirt. The air was filled with a light amount of smoke, giving the surrounding area a milky, dirty aura. Through the smog, the group was just barely able to make out the various buildings surrounding the town square. They resembled the buildings back in their Ponyville but were also slightly different. The Doctor could see that they looked more modern with electrical wires extending between the houses and satellite dishes attached to the roofs. The other buildings looked just as decayed and abandoned as the Town Hall. Not one ounce of life to be seen anywhere. No ponies. No humans. No animals. No vegetation. Nothing. Just ash, smog, and decay.

"This Ponyville...it feels...sick," said Twilight as a quick cough escaped her lungs.

"This whole world feels sick," the Doctor added.

"Wait a minute. What's that?" Derpy asked as she pointed towards an object a few yards away, embedded in the earth.

"Let's find out," said Donna as she approached the object, the others following close behind her.

When they reached the object, it was revealed to be a _Welcome to Ponyville_ sign that was normally seen on one of the various roads that led into town. The once-red sign was now dark gray with only a few bits of incredibly dry and cracked red paint left behind. The words, on the other hand, remained alongside a few added phrases and edits.

The word _Ponyville_ on the sign had been scratched out and was now replaced by the word _Equestria_. Beneath the new _Welcome to Equestria_ phrase were several other phrases scribbled or etched into the sign's surface. Spike stepped forward and read the words on the sign aloud. "Welcome to Equestria. The land of death. Hell on Gaia. The new Tartarus. The diseased country. The end of the line. Your final resting place. Our final resting place," he recited. The young dragon gulped and turned back towards the others. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Hold it," said Donna as she approached the sign. "There's something else written on there. At the very bottom."

Spike squinted his eyes. "Oh! I see it! I must have missed it."

"Not hard to do. Could whoever wrote this have written it any smaller?!"

"What does it say?" Derpy asked.

Donna and Spike leaned in closer. "It says..." they started. The two of them froze as their eyes glazed over the final phrase. They looked at each other and then turned back to the others.

"What is it? What does it say?!" Twilight asked.

Donna and Spike turned towards the Doctor. "The Doctor's domain," they replied with a confused tone.

"Huh?" asked a confused Derpy. "What's that supposed to mean?" Derpy turned to the Doctor. "Doctor?" Derpy suddenly gasped. The Doctor's face had grown incredibly dark. An angry fire appeared to be burning deep within his old eyes.

"Doctor?" asked Twilight with a concerned look.

The Doctor exhaled hard before looking at his five companions. "I know how this _Discord Whooves_ is related to me now," he replied. Everypony fell silent. "He's-" The Doctor suddenly cut himself off. His ears twitched and his body grew still. "Do you hear it?"

Everypony looked around. "Hear what?" Derpy asked.

"The thumping," the Doctor replied.

Twi gave a surprised, fearful expression. "I hear it too," she said.

"Doctor, what do you hear?" Donna asked.

The Doctor turned and looked towards the gray, smoggy abyss that cloaked the dead town of Ponyville. His hearts were beating like mad. He had heard this sound before. He knew this sound...and he knew what was making it. "Run," he said gravely.

"What'd you say?" Twilight asked.

The Doctor turned towards Twilight, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. "RUN!" The Doctor took off towards the smog in the opposite direction from where the sound was coming from. "COME ON! RUN!"

"Do what he says," said Twi coldly. "Run." Twi took off after the Doctor. Though they were confused, Twilight, Derpy, Donna, and Spike followed suit. Whatever the Doctor was telling them to run from was probably something they wanted to be as far away from as possible. Twilight levitated Spike and placed him on her back, Derpy took to the air, and Donna ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

"DON'T LOOK BACK! JUST KEEP RUNNING!" the Doctor ordered from ahead.

Twi was running fast. As her legs made her soar across the ash that cloaked the ground, another memory started to crop up from deep within her psyche. Her fear of the thumping slowly began to fade away and was being replaced by a sense of security. She felt safe. She felt secure. She knew nothing bad was going to happen to them. All they had to do was reach the library. She caught up to the Doctor. "Follow me. I know a way to a safe place," she said. Before the Doctor could ask any further questions, she raced ahead of him.

_**Outside the Home of Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

Twi felt her heart soar as the Golden Oak Library came into view. "Home," she said under her breath. She came to an abrupt stop a couple yards away from the front door. The Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, Donna, and Spike stopped as well.

"My library," said Twilight with a melancholy voice.

"Is _this_ the safe place?" the Doctor asked.

"No," Twi replied before turning back. "This is a rendezvous point for us to be _taken to_ the safe place."

Everypony started looking around. "I don't see any help coming!" said Twilight.

"You're right!" Twi gasped as she started to frantically look around. "Why is that? Why is that? Why...is...that?" She scratched her head and tapped her wand against her temple. Her eyes trailed over to her wand and she let out a shriek of realization. "THAT'S IT!"

"What is?!" asked Derpy.

"I have to signal help with my wand!" Twi replied.

"Well do it then!" the Doctor ordered.

Twi's face became flushed and she started to nervously scratch her head with her wand. "Well...you see...I...sorta...don't remember how to cast the signal."

The faces of the Doctor, Twilight, Derpy, Donna, and Spike fell faster than water off a waterfall. "You're kidding me," said Spike.

Suddenly...they heard it: the sound of many, _many_ metal feet thumping against the earth. The Doctor turned towards the smog. "They're almost here," he gasped.

Twi started pacing back and forth, tapping her wand against her temple and going over the unfinished memory time and time again. "What was the signal? What was it? Was it blue? No...green? No...purple? Yeah! Maybe it was purple!"

As Twi rambled on, the others looked towards the army of shadows emerging from the smog. "Doctor...what are those things?" Twilight asked.

"An old enemy of mine," the Doctor replied.

"Maybe we should get out of here," Donna suggested.

"WAIT! I'VE GOT IT!" announced Twi as she pointed her wand towards the cloudy heavens. A massive blast of purple energy shot from her wand and up into the sky. The blast traveled up and up until it exploded in a shower of purple, spreading some of the clouds apart and raining beautiful sparks down upon them.

The advancing enemies stopped for a moment and stared up at the falling sparks. However, only a few seconds later, they continued their walk. "Twi, how long does it take for help to arrive?" Twilight asked.

"I dunno. They should be here pretty soon," Twi replied.

"_They're_ going to be here pretty soon too!" Spike gulped.

"Doctor, what _are_ those things?!" Donna asked as the metal humanoids came into view.

"Cybermen!" the Doctor replied with a growl.

The army of Cybermen was approaching fast. They had the group in their sights and were now headed their way. "I don't think we have anymore time to wait!" said Derpy.

"They should be here quickly! They're really fast!" Twi argued.

"Let's hope they're fast enough!" gulped Spike. The others began to back up as the horde of Cybermen advanced.

"Twilight...you should probably prepare to teleport or something," Donna suggested.

"That won't be necessary," said a masculine voice nearby. Everypony turned to see a cloaked figure standing a few feet away with a rocket launcher of sorts. He proceeded to carefully aim it in the direction of the oncoming Cybermen. "If I were you, I'd get out of the way." The Doctor and the others hastily moved out of the line of fire. Not one second after they were in the clear, the figure fired the weapon. A large, blue projectile soared through the air and smashed into the heart of the Cybermen army. An explosion of metal and sparks erupted and disturbed the smoggy landscape. Pieces of Cybermen started to rain down from the sky while the surviving Cybermen continued towards them at a slower pace due to their injuries. "That should slow them down." The figure turned towards the group and approached them. He looked at Twi and nodded. "Nice to see you're alright, Twilight."

"Sorry but...who are you, exactly?" Twi asked.

"I see. Colgate told me about this possibility. Well, I'll explain everything to all of you later. Now I've got to get you to headquarters." The figure reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a green powder. A slightly annoyed sigh escaped from the hood. "Sorry about this." Before anyone in the group could utter a single word, the figure threw the powder on the ground. An explosion of green mist erupted around them, blurring their vision. A second later, they all blacked out.


	5. A Meeting of Friends and Doubles

Chapter 4: A Meeting of Friends and Doubles

_**Rebel Headquarters, Underneath Manehattan, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

Spike felt a searing pain in his head when he came to. His eyes hurt as he opened them and he was blinded by the incredibly white ceiling which hung above him. A soft, comfortable surface lay beneath him and the air smelled of...gems? Spike's mouth began to water. "That smell...oh...I could use some gems right about now," he moaned as his stomach growled a bit.

"Good. You're awake," said a voice nearby. Spike couldn't help but find this new voice to sound strangely familiar. He turned his head, a quick pain shooting through his neck in the process, in the direction of his visitor. A wooden chair was situated next to the white bed he was lying on. A human girl was sitting in it. She appeared to be in her late teens, had incredibly fair skin, and had a silky stream of pink hair flowing from her scalp. She was wearing a yellow dress and pink sandals. Each sandal had a pink butterfly pin clipped to it and a symbol containing three pink butterflies was located on the center right side of the girl's dress. The symbol looked an awful lot like...no...it couldn't be.

"F...Fluttershy?" Spike asked weakly.

The girl tilted her head in a cute manner and giggled. "That's me. It's nice to finally meet you, dragon Spike. I have to admit that I'm kind of excited. It's not everyday somebody like me gets to meet a dragon."

Spike was still trying to register what was happening. He searched through his memories and focused on the last thing he could remember. Ponyville. Ash. Cybermen. Hooded figure. Green smoke. Bits and pieces, words and phrases, bounced around his psyche. Another pain echoed through the innards of his skull. He clutched his temple and groaned. "Where...where am I?!"

"A safe place...for now." The human Fluttershy twirled one of her fingers through her hair as she continued to keep her soothing gaze on Spike.

Spike was still digesting the fact that the human before him was an alternate Fluttershy. It was weird, seeing an alternate version of somepony he knew. It was weird with the evil Rainbow Dash, Clockwork, Bright Eyes, and Twi and it was no less weird with this human Fluttershy. However, though his head hurt and his body felt weak, he still felt a welcoming sense of familiarity. She may be human...but she was still Fluttershy. When Spike focused hard enough, he could see his Fluttershy's face hidden within the face of the girl before him. It was just like when he looked hard enough at Twi.

"The others...my friends...where are they?" Spike asked, his voice sounding more urgent.

The human Fluttershy reached her hand over and patted Spike on the head. Her skin felt smooth and delicate and instantly made his insides melt like hot ice cream. Her smile grew a little bigger. "Fine. They're all fine," she replied. "You're the first to awaken. I should probably apologize on Flash's behalf right now. Teleportation dust has some very unwanted side effects."

"Teleportation dust?"

"The green stuff you probably remember seeing before blacking out." Fluttershy reached into one of her dress pockets and pulled out a medium-sized plastic bag filled with green dust that sparkled in the room's white light. "It's a little invention of ours. It's helped out the fliers and those without magic with getting out of tight situations. Just think of a place, toss it down, and you're off. Sadly, most of the trips end with either extreme weakness or instant unconsciousness. Thankfully, the effect appears to wear off with thorough use of it." She returned the bag to her pocket. "I've never had to use my portion before. Mostly because I've never found myself in harm's way. I tend to stay in whatever haven we create for ourselves." Spike threw the covers off him and began to crawl out of bed. Fluttershy attempted to help him. "Do you need help?"

"I'm fine," Spike replied as he politely brushed Fluttershy's hands away from him. "I can feel my strength coming back." A pain coursed through his back and he groaned. "I think."

"Strange," Fluttershy commented. Spike looked up at Fluttershy, her face contorted into an expression of thought.

"What is?"

"Seeing you. Knowing who you are. It's just...kinda weird talking to an alternate version of someone I know."

Spike couldn't help but chuckle. "You're not alone there, Fluttershy."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" said Fluttershy. The door opened and in stepped a boy who looked a few years younger than Fluttershy. He had spiky, green hair; fair skin; was wearing a purple, hooded jacket covered in a few burn marks, and was also wearing a pair of green pants and purple shoes. "Oh...Spike."

Spike's eyes widened as he realized that he was now staring at his dimensional double. The human Spike tilted his head upon looking at his dragon equivalent. "Now I know how Twilight feels," Spike commented.

Human Spike shook his head and turned to Fluttershy. "The others are starting to wake up. Everyone's grouping up in the meeting hall right now," he informed.

"Thank you, Spike," said Fluttershy before looking down at dragon Spike and blushing slightly. Spike gave an awkward cough before following his human self through the door.

* * *

Twi was feeling really guilty. Ever since she had come face-to-face with the true face of the hooded figure who had arrived to rescue her and the others from the Cybermen, she had been overwhelmed with an incredible amount of guilt and sadness. She _knew_ that she knew the fair-skinned boy with spiked blue hair...but she just couldn't locate her memories of him.

Her footsteps along with his echoed through the white hallway they were walking down. He was being very quiet and had hardly spoken a word to her other than asking how she was feeling and telling her it was time to go. She wanted to reach out to him, take back the memory she had forgotten. It hadn't taken long for her to remember the signal for help...why was this boy so hard to remember?

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly.

The boy stopped and turned around. She stopped as well and felt her insides burn with sadness as she looked deep into his light-blue eyes. "About what?" he asked. A teasing chuckle escaped his lips. "You haven't touched something you shouldn't, have you?"

Twi shook her head quickly. "No...that's not it."

"Then what's the apology for?"

Twi was silent for a few seconds. She slowly rubbed one of her arms and started to blush. "Forgetting."

The boy smiled sadly. "Come now, Twilight Sparkle. Don't go beating yourself up over something like that. You couldn't control what that rift generator did to you."

Twi clenched her fists. "Were...were we friends?"

"You were friends with everyone. I'm just one of many."

"But...were you and I...were we..._close_?"

The boy sighed and turned around. "Come along. The others are waiting for us."

Twi and the boy started walking down the hallway once more. "Can I at least know your name?" Twi asked.

"Flash. Flash Sentry," he replied.

Twi felt a warm feeling course through her body. "Well...it's nice to meet you, Flash Sentry. But...I guess I've already met you before." Twi gave an amused chuckle but Flash remained silent. Twi sighed before becoming quiet herself.

* * *

The Doctor and his escort, a human by the name of Lyra Heartstrings, entered a room the size of an office lounge. It was filled with various chairs and tables and the air smelled of bananas. "It looks like we're the first ones here," said the Doctor with a chuckle. Lyra nodded and began to walk towards one of the doors. "Where are you going?"

"This meeting's only for the really important people...and ponies. The rest of us still have jobs to do," Lyra replied. Before she left she turned back to the Doctor one, last time. "Um...nice hooves."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Thank you?"

Lyra smiled before exiting through the door. The Doctor let out a sigh and made his way over to one of the chairs. He sat down and stretched his neck a bit. The method of transport used hadn't been exactly the most comfortable means of travel. _I would have rather taken the TARDIS on a bad day_, the Doctor thought.

Another one of the doors opened and in walked Donna and Derpy. "Doctor!" said Derpy as she flew forward and gave the Doctor a quick hug.

"Well, it looks like you two are doing fine," the Doctor chuckled.

"If by fine you meaning being sore and confused as hell then yeah, we're peachy," Donna replied.

The Doctor chuckled once more. "So where are _your_ escorts?"

"They went back to work," Derpy replied. "We must be in an army base or something like that."

"We are. A rebel base located directly beneath the city of Manehattan...well...what remains of it," the Doctor explained. "My escort, Lyra Heartstrings, told me."

"More alternate versions of ponies we know."

At that moment, several more doors opened and the Doctor, Derpy, and Donna were joined by the others: Twilight, Spike, Twi, the human Fluttershy, the human Spike, and Flash Sentry. "Twilight!" said Spike as he ran over and hugged the lavender unicorn. Everyone and everypony made their way to their seats.

"Is that who I think it is?" Twilight whispered in Spike's ear as her eyes fell on the human versions of Fluttershy and Spike.

Spike gave an awkward nod. "Yep."

Twilight looked at alternate Fluttershy and Spike for a few more seconds. Before turning away, she noticed the human Spike eyeing Twi with a hurt look on his face. She then looked back at her own Spike. _It must be hard for human Spike. Twi still has amnesia. I can only imagine how hurt my Spike would feel if I no longer knew who he was_, she thought. Her gaze then traveled around the room and examined its other inhabitants. _A human me, a human Spike, and a human Fluttershy. I guess human versions of the rest of my friends and the Princesses shouldn't be too far behind._

Finally, one last door opened and in stepped three individuals: Colgate, looking as hardened and general-like as she had in her holographic message; Clockwork, wearing a somewhat dirty, brown trench coat, a striped brown suit, and a pair of square glasses as well as had a small cut on his left cheek; and a woman with fair skin and dark purple hair whom the Doctor and his companions instantly recognized as this world's Rarity. _Huh...she managed to make the army look fashionable_, the Doctor commented in thought as he examined Rarity's camo jacket, bracelets, pants, and shoes. The Doctor turned his attention to Colgate and Clockwork and stood up, approaching them with a serious look on his face. "Hello again. Colgate. Clockwork," he said.

"Doctor," Colgate and Clockwork said seriously in unison. For a second or two, the three ponies exchanged intense glares before giving wide smiles and meeting up in a big hug.

"I can't believe you're actually here," Colgate said as the hug broke apart. She turned towards Twilight, Donna, Derpy, and Spike. "All of you. It feels almost like a dream."

"Tell me about it," said Twilight as she stood up and approached Colgate. "You're _definitely_ not the same mare I said goodbye to a couple days ago."

Colgate chuckled. "I remember that night. It was over a year ago from my point of view." Twilight's smile faded.

"How did you end up here?" Derpy asked. "And how did you meet Clockwork?"

"It's a long story," Clockwork replied as he gave a sad face in Derpy's direction, which Derpy couldn't help but take notice of.

"One we can discuss in a little bit. There will plenty of time for talk during preparation," said Colgate as she made her way towards the front of the room. "Right now, we need to discuss the plan."

"Wait a minute," said Twilight. "I thought this was a meeting for all of the important ponies and people here."

"That's true. Here we all are," Colgate replied.

"Save one," the Doctor heard Clockwork whisper to Colgate.

"But what about the rest of my friends? Well...I suppose _this world's_ versions of them anyway. Applejack? Rainbow Dash? Pinkie Pie? Derpy? What about the Princesses? What about Shining Armor and Cadance?" Twilight asked. A deathly silence fell. Twilight could see expressions of great sadness appearing on the faces of those who belonged in this world. Even Twi was giving a sad face though she also appeared to be confused about as to why she was making it in the first place.

"They're not here," said a familiar voice from one of the doorways. Everypony and everyone turned to the doorway in question see a woman with flowing dark blue hair that sparkled like the night, incredibly fair skin, dark blue eyes, a black crown on her head, a deep blue tunic, dark blue pants, a long gray cloak, a black belt holding a silver rapier, and a silver wand sticking out of one of her tunic's pockets.

"Princess Luna!" Colgate gasped.

The human Princess Luna smirked. "You seem surprised to see me."

"Well, with all due respect, it's for good reason," said Clockwork. "You've spent a lot of time locked away since-"

"To answer your question, unicorn Twilight Sparkle," Luna said abruptly as she approached Twilight. "They're not coming. Our Derpy is busy helping other soldiers. We lost Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor, and Cadance and my sister is...unavailable right now." Twilight gulped as she stared into this world's Luna's eyes. They were abnormally cold and cut through her like knives. A feeling of intimidation with a twinge of sadness coursed through her. Sure, these weren't her versions of her friends and family...but just to hear about them being lost anyway just made her insides twist and turn.

The unicorn turned towards Fluttershy and Rarity. "I...I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't apologize, darling," said Rarity with a wave of her hand. "It's not like you had anything to do with it. No. This is all thanks to that insane stallion, Discord Whooves!"

Fluttershy suddenly raised one of her hands. "Well, one of them isn't lost," she said. "Pinkie Pie is-"

"She's lost, Fluttershy!" Luna snapped. "Deal with it!"

Tears began to form in Fluttershy's eyes and her shoulders started to shake. "But...she's not dead!"

"With the way she is now, she might as well be!" Luna turned away from Fluttershy and made her way towards the front of the room where Colgate and Clockwork were standing. Rarity placed her hands on Fluttershy's shoulders to comfort her. Luna turned to Colgate and Clockwork. "Everyone and every_pony's_ here now. Let's get down to business!"

"Yes. Let's," said Colgate. Everyone and everypony in the room fell silent as they turned their attention to Colgate. "Doctor, I'm assuming that you've seen the message I sent with the rift generator."

"Yes. My companions and I have seen it," the Doctor replied.

"Good." Colgate cleared her throat. "The situation in this world, as you've seen, is not very good. According to our spies, the enemy is close to finishing the final touches on his rift generator."

"Discord Whooves."

"Correct."

"Before we continue, can we at least know who exactly this _Discord Whooves_ is?" Donna asked.

"He's an alternate version of me," the Doctor answered. Silence fell once more. "He's a _dark_ Doctor."

Twilight gasped. "Doctor," she uttered. "Are you saying that-"

"Yes. That's _exactly_ what I'm saying, Ms. Sparkle."

"What are we saying here?" asked the two Spikes in perfect unison.

"How did you know?" Colgate asked.

"Twi told us his name back in Ponyville. At first, everypony thought he was Discord or something like that. However, Twi also mentioned remembering that he was connected to me. That's when I put it all together. That's when I remembered," the Doctor replied.

"Remembered what?" Fluttershy asked.

"A month ago in my Equestria's time, there was an incident in Canterlot. Several Daleks appeared through rifts and went after our Princess Luna. Our Princess Celestia had a near death experience thanks to these Daleks and was rescued by...well...this world's Princess Luna, if my guess is correct."

All eyes turned on Luna. "You're wrong," said the Princess of the Night. "I've never helped any pony version of my sister. There are other universes. It must have been another one."

"You have experience in spiritual training correct?"

Luna shuffled her legs a bit and nodded. "Why does it matter?"

The Doctor was quiet as he put the pieces together. "You're going to need to use it in the future." Luna turned away from the Doctor. The Doctor cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, it turns out that the Daleks sent through the rift had been sent after this world's Princess Luna but their damaged minds caused them to go after our world's Princess Luna. I learned that the Daleks had been ordered to do so by _the Doctor_. Our Princess Celestia later told us of her spiritual encounter with the human Princess Luna, who had warned her about an evil Doctor. I've been trying to figure out more about this other Doctor and the rifts ever since." The Doctor then pointed one of his hooves at Clockwork. "And let me guess. He looks exactly like me only his coat's gray, his mane's black, and he has pegasus wings."

Colgate and Clockwork turned to each other and then back to the Doctor. "You've seen him before?" Clockwork asked.

"Not in the flesh," the Doctor replied. "I saw an echo of him of sorts when I entered your mind during your battle with the false Sombra. Do you remember?"

Clockwork's head gave a motion that resembled a somewhat of a mix between a shake and a nod. "Not entirely. It was so long ago for me...and that's a point of my life I've been trying to move away from."

The Doctor gave a friendly smile. "Hopefully Bright Eyes has been a good help with that."

"Speaking of Bright Eyes, where is she?" Derpy asked suddenly.

Colgate's face became grim once more. "We don't know," the unicorn replied.

Derpy's ears dropped. "What do you mean that you don't know?"

"It's a long story," said Clockwork.

"One we can discuss later. Right now, let's focus on the plan!" Luna snapped.

Everyone and everypony fell silent. "Right," said Colgate as she cleared her throat. "Discord Whooves has been working on a massive rift generator since his arrival in this world. As you can figure out, it is the cause of the dimensional rifts you've been running across in your travels."

"But why?" Twilight asked nearly under her breath but loud enough for others to hear. "It doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't, darling?" Rarity asked.

Twilight looked around and realized that all eyes were on her. Her face grew bright red and her ears drooped a bit. "It doesn't make sense. This Discord Whooves is an alternate version of the Doctor, correct? Well, shouldn't he have a TARDIS? I would assume that his TARDIS can travel through dimensions too otherwise how would he have arrived here? Why would he need to create dimensional rifts when he has a TARDIS?"

"She's got a point," said Donna with a snap of her fingers.

"It's true that Discord Whooves _does_ have a TARDIS," Clockwork replied. "Colgate and I saw it when he first entered this world. But we haven't seen it anywhere since."

"Maybe his TARDIS just doesn't work anymore," Derpy guessed with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I don't know," Spike added. "The TARDIS doesn't seem like something that can just stop working."

"Oh it's possible, Spike," said the Doctor. "In the right conditions and under the right circumstances, a TARDIS can indeed simply...well..._die_."

"That blue box _did_ look pretty damaged when it fell from the sky," said Twi as she crossed her arms. All eyes now focused on her and Twi, like her pony counterpart, blushed. "Sorry...just a random chunk of memory." For a few seconds, her eyes glazed over Flash Sentry, Fluttershy, Spike the human, and Rarity and she noticed that they were giving her fairly depressed looks. She turned her attention back to Colgate, Clockwork, and Luna.

"Okay, so his TARDIS doesn't work. What's his motive to begin with?" Twilight asked. "Why did he come to this world in the first place and where is he trying to go next?"

"We don't know," Colgate replied with a sigh.

"He just showed up and all hell broke loose," Luna explained with a wave of her hand. "Okay, let's just cut to the plan." She pointed at the Doctor. "You have a TARDIS with you, correct?"

"Well, it's not with me right now. It's currently sitting back in what remains of Ponyville's town hall," the Doctor replied.

"Not a problem we can get our team there to collect it. Your TARDIS is our new secret weapon! You can transport a team into the heart of Canterlot, where Discord Whooves resides, and we can take him down from the inside out!"

"And that's it?" Donna asked.

"Well, you know what they say," said Fluttershy. "Easier said than done."

"We've tried many times to infiltrate Canterlot with teleportation spells, our new teleportation dust, direct assault from all sides, and so on. He's placed a lot of security around the city with his Cybermen and Dalek armies and has harnessed some of this world's magic to create protective barriers," Colgate explained. "By this point, the TARDIS might be the only thing that can break through his defenses."

"So this all boils down to a simple infiltration mission," the Doctor deduced. A near childish smile appeared on his face. "Haven't done one of those in a while."

"Well...it's not _just_ an infiltration mission. It's also a rescue mission."

"Who are we rescuing?" Spike asked.

"Let me guess," said Derpy as she scratched her head. "Bright Eyes and Pinkie Pie?"

A deathly silence fell. "No," Luna replied coldly. "We don't even know if Bright Eyes is even in this universe and Pinkie Pie is beyond saving."

"How is she-"

"Let's just drop it. Okay?" Fluttershy asked as her eyes began to tear up. Rarity and Spike the human proceeded to help calm her down.

"So who are we rescuing?" the Doctor asked.

"Matilda and Daring Do," Colgate replied.

The Doctor's ears jerked up. "Matilda?!"

"Daring Do?!" asked Twilight, Derpy, and Spike the dragon in unison.

"Yes," Clockwork answered with a nod. "A few days ago, Matilda and Daring Do arrived in this world with the past versions of Colgate and myself. Our past selves escaped while Matilda and Daring Do were captured by the Cybermen in Canterlot. We're not sure what happened to them after we escaped but we're sure that they're alive somewhere in that city."

"As long as Pinkie Pie hasn't gotten to them," the Doctor heard Luna state harshly under her breath.

"It looks like we get to see Matilda again," Twilight said to the Doctor with an awkward chuckle.

"But...Daring Do?! How?!" Spike asked.

"And what's this about your _past_ selves? I thought you two have been here for year!" said Donna.

"Both parts of our long story," Colgate replied with a chuckle.

Just then, Luna reached into one of her tunic pockets and pulled out what resembled a smartphone. After making a few motions with her fingers, she stored the phone away. "There we go," she said with a satisfied smile. "Your TARDIS will be obtained by some of our soldiers and brought here safely."

The Doctor smiled. "Excellent! Thank you, your majesty!" he said.

"Alright, we all best start preparing ourselves for this mission," said Colgate in a loud, clear, general-like manner. "We have a tyrant to take down, an army to defeat, a machine to destroy, and some friends to save. It's going to be a long and dangerous trip."

"What trip _isn't_ like that in this world?" Flash Sentry asked with a chuckle and a smirk. Twi met eye-to-eye with Flash for a second and blushed again, nervously twirling her fingers in her hair.

"This meeting is finished. Go off and mingle and prepare and all that crap," Luna said as she strutted over to one of the doors and exited the room.

"Man, this Luna makes our Luna look like Pinkie Pie," Spike whispered to Twilight. Twilight giggled in response.

"Doctor," said Colgate as she approached him. "Can I speak with you in private? There's some things I wish to discuss with you. There's also a question I've had for a long time that I _dearly_ hope you can answer."

"Certainly, General," the Doctor replied with a smirk. "Lead the way." Colgate chuckled a bit before leading the Doctor out the room and in the direction of something she had been seeking an answer to for the past year.


End file.
